OSCEOLA COUNTY DEPUTIES ARREST IRENE MILLER ON CHILD NEGLECT CHARGES

Osceola County deputies arrested Irene Miller at an airport in Florida on 23 October after investigators said she left her four children at their Kissimmee home while she travelled to Las Vegas for work. One of the children called 911 on 21 October to report that a dumbbell had fallen on her younger brother’s head. Deputies found the four children without an adult present, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. Emergency workers took the injured boy to Celebration Hospital, where he received treatment before his release.

Miller told investigators by telephone that she had left for Las Vegas on 18 October and planned to return on 23 October, according to the sheriff’s office. She said she had arranged for a babysitter from Tampa to visit the home in the mornings, get the children ready for school and check on them afterwards. Deputies said the arrangement did not require the babysitter to stay overnight. Miller works as a professional photographer, and investigators said she was more than 2,000 miles away when they reached the home.

Authorities contacted the children’s father, who agreed to take all four into his care. Miller returned to Florida two days after the emergency call. Body-camera footage shows deputies meeting her at the airport and placing her in handcuffs. The sheriff’s office said Miller faces four counts of child neglect.